An Island In The Hills – Matheran

Someone once mentioned to me that we lived very close to Asia's largest pedestrian only hill-town. Huh?! No traffic? No constant shroud of smoke? No ear-piercing honks? No ducking for my life? I brushed it aside as too good to be true. Curiosity got the better of me, though, as B and his merry band…

For The Love Of God – Ajanta & Ellora Caves

Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God. - Kurt Vonnegut If you keep your senses on high alert as you wind in and out of far-reaching villages in India, you'll see what a large role religion plays in molding what the masses do and how they live their lives. And it is easy to…

March Madness – Mahabaleshwar

We spent two wintry months curled up at home or at a cafe and drinking hot chai. It was much too difficult to even imagine waking up early for a trek, and weekends went by in deep sloth-ness. "Let summer come" we whispered and sunk deeper into our couches. Summer did come, and how! The skies…

Lavasa

We walk along a shady promenade along a quietly flowing river, with pretty bridges spanning it on one side, and colourful cafes on the other. People lounge on street-side tables and chairs or rest on the benches strewn around - of course, with expensive coffee in their hands. At the end of the commercial section of…

Coastline Capers – Alibaug

As we pulled out west in our quest for the Maharastrian coastline, the Deccan Plateau felt eerily like Portland. Swamped by a mountain range on one side and the coastline on the other, nostalgia swept me to the extent that I exuberantly dubbed the narrow, pot-holed road along the coast "Highway 101". That could just…

Mumbai, A Study In Contrasts

Mumbai, New York, London, Paris, Tokyo The greatest conglomeration and variety of humans that you can ever imagine to see in one place. Melting pots. Trains are king. Finance. Fashion. Love it or hate it. So I've heard in the last decade. My memories of Mumbai date back to when I was visiting cousins more…